Man attempts suicide by wolf

[large thumbnail url=”man-attempts-suicide-by-wolf” filename=”news” year=”2010″ month=”12″ day=”30″] [thumbnail icon url=”man-attempts-suicide-by-wolf” filename=”news” year=”2010″ month=”12″ day=”30″] A Chinese man leaps down more than 20 feet in to a wolf enclosure in a Hefei wildlife park… the suicide attempt landed the man in hospital with multiple fractures, but no wolf bites.

It’s a bizarre story of a misinformed and very depressed man seeking a to commit suicide by wolf and failing.

The man, whose last name is, according to the Global Times Web site, Ling, had apparantly been recently fired and believed himself to be a burden to his family. After being ignored by his wife, he left the house, on December 20, and headed to the wildlife park, located in Hefei in the Anhui Province. His hope was to leap down from a high bridge, land in the wolf enclosure and get eaten by the seven wolves which call it home.

The initial part of the plan worked as designed. The man fell close to eight meters (about 25 feet) and fractured five bones.

Then things went wrong. As informed wolf advocates would expect, all seven wolves were startled and scared and ran away from the man. Ling was recovered from the enclosure and taken to hospital for the broken bones from the fall.

The park’s deputy explained that the wolves were “domesticated” (though I am inclined to believe this is more accurately defined as “socialized”) and afraid of strangers. He did note that had Ling elected the tiger enclosure, they would have obligingly attacked him.